Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
'Simeon's Gift' is really - it's about a musician who - in the Middle Ages, who goes out to find his muse.
In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. You find the fun and - SNAP - the job's a game!
The arts bridge cultures; they're good for the economy, and they're good for fostering empathy and decency.
As my mother said, I never sprang out of bed with a glad shout! My voice needed oiling and then it took off.
I know I probably have a lot of rage in me that I don't show. But I'm not about to wallow in it or reveal it.
Growing up in England, of course you do absorb certain ways the royals wave their hands and carry themselves.
I thought it was all a flash in the pan. It wasn't until Broadway came along that I felt I had really made it.
I've made my pact with the Lord for the next lifetime. I would love to be a first-class musician. A super one.
A lot of my life happened in great, wonderful bursts of good fortune, and then I would race to be worthy of it.
How dare one act like a diva when you have a lot of work to do and you need to find your disciplines and so on?
I don't sing the way I used to, so I'm doing everything I can to put the word out that they shouldn't expect that.
I'm thrilled in a way because musicals should be preserved. It's mostly unique to America, and they give us so much joy.
There are elements of me in the roles I've played in the past. But people forget that Mary Poppins was just a role, too.
All careers go up and down like friendships, like marriages, like anything else, and you can't bat a thousand all the time.
I always knew I had this voice, but it wasn't until I was in my 20s that I realized I had the power to do something with it.
I miss singing with an orchestra because that's the most uplifting thing that I ever knew. It is just such a fabulous feeling.
My parents were in Vaudeville, in musical. And I would tour with them and had a couple of wonderfully lucky breaks in England.
Behaving like a princess is work. It's not just about looking beautiful or wearing a crown. It's more about how you are inside.
My mother was terribly important to me, and I know how much I yearned for her in my youth, but I don't think I truly trusted her.
Of course, you can say it backwards, which is dociousaliexpilisticfragicalirupus, but that's going a bit too far, don't you think?
I am very proud to be British. I'm very conscious of carrying my country with me wherever I go. I feel I need to represent it well.
I had toured around England endlessly throughout my teens, but when I came to the U.S. to perform on Broadway, that was a huge step.
I have always wished I could learn to be a potter. I love collecting ceramics; it would be so fulfilling to create something lovely.
I do not knock 'Poppins' or 'The Sound of Music.' They gave me pleasure, and I know they've given a lot of people enormous pleasure.
I play with my grandchildren. I tend to my garden, which I love. Of course, I love to read, and family is really what it's all about.
You'd think, of course, it's about the melody - that's a given. But really, I'm no good at singing a song unless it has a good lyric.
I love my garden. I love my privacy. I'm very fierce about it. I try not to let too many people into my home. That's my private place.
Sometimes opportunities float right past your nose. Work hard, apply yourself, and be ready. When an opportunity comes you can grab it.
When I start to write, I see my stories as a kind of movie. For instance, I ask myself, "What kind of opening do I want for this book?"
Don't you get a swollen head. There's always someone who could come and do what you do, maybe even better, so be grateful and work hard.
You just don't know in life. Life knocks you about and pushes you over boundaries. But be ready. Do your homework; that's all I can say.
I do ask myself sometimes, what am I doing writing about animals that talk like we do? But I guess it's okay if it brings across a point.
I'm not singing anymore; that is why I am so pleased to be writing. My daughter said, "You just found a different way of using your voice."
I'd say just go with the flow. And I take my hat off to any mother out there who works full-time and raises a family as well. It's hard work.
The world is full of magical places, and the library has always been one of them for me. A library can be that special place for our children.
Our first visit to the Creature Shop is one of the days I will never, ever forget. There was just so much to see and admire and be gobsmacked by.
I have been called a nun with a switchblade where my privacy is concerned. I think there's a point where one says, that's for family, that's for me.
I think every young girl at some point in her early life wonders what it's like to be a princess. They like the idea of dressing up and the fun of it.
If you're not educated to enjoy the arts, if you're not taken to a concert, or you don't hear something beautiful, you don't know what you're missing.
Did you ever notice the color of Mary Poppins' petticoats? They were kind of orange and apricot and red. I think she had a secret life going on there.
I think family matters to me enormously. In fact, family is the first priority. If my family is good, I can do anything. If they're not, I'm a basket case.
All I care about really is writing something worthwhile for children, something that will engage them in some way and stimulates in them a sense of wonder.
My mum gave me pretty good genes in that department. She had gorgeous skin. That good English complexion. She never seemed to have a blemish that I knew of.
The loveliest roles, for me, have a growth arc - a beginning, a middle, and an end - and I'm always grateful when I can find one of those emotional journeys.
I didn't know other children from divorced families, and I was a bit of a lost soul for a while. Then suddenly, I was performing. And it gave me an identity.
I am thrilled to be dame. It's one of those - the fact that you have been honored by your country is what it's all about, and it just feels good right there.
I'm not very good with some of the more modern songs that have an awful lot of 'doo wah wahs,' if you know what I mean, because I can't do anything with them.
If you've been fortunate enough to do a film that appeals to the entire family, that's the audience that's probably going to come back to you in something else.
The music and lyrics of Rodgers & Hammerstein connect seamlessly. Singing those beautiful songs was a joyous experience for me, and one that I will never forget.
I adored my birth father and constantly worried that I was being disloyal to him and his schoolteacher roots if I spent too much time performing and enjoying it.